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When you ask Mechelle Best, Dean of the College of Health and Human Development, what unites the programs in her college—including the Department of Communication Disorders & Sciences (CDS)—she doesn’t hesitate.

“Honestly, it’s like all of the programs in this college,” says Dean Best. “The College of Health and Human Development is centered on programs that help individuals, families, and communities. The CDS does exactly that; the program attracts somebody who wants to help somebody else.”

The CDS program prepares students for careers where science and compassion meet. With bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral programs, CDS equips students to become speech-language pathologists and audiologists — professionals who help children with their speech, stroke survivors regain verbal and cognitive skills or seniors stay connected to the world through better hearing. “It could be babies, it could be older adults,” says Dean Best. “Helping them to communicate effectively is what this department is about.”

Communication Matters

Communication — speaking, hearing, reading — is a basic human need. When it’s disrupted, lives can change overnight.

The world was reminded of this in 2022 when actor Bruce Willis retired due to a diagnosis of primary progressive aphasia, a neurogenerative condition that disrupts one’s language skill, such as speaking, understanding speech, writing and reading. Conditions such as these have created the need for speech pathology and cognitive therapy. And hearing loss is more widespread as our population ages, so audiology becomes a significant part of the communication puzzle. 

CSUN provides many opportunities for careers in these growing fields and attracts students from a variety of disciplines. “I took a brain and behavior class when I was in art school,” explains CSUN Professor of Communication Disorders and Sciences Michael Biel, CScD, a CSUN alum (MS, 1993). “I knew I wanted to be in a helping profession. And when it became time to choose a profession, speech pathology seemed like a good fit.”

Stroke, Aphasia and the Power of Therapy

One of the department’s most impactful areas is therapy for people who have lost speech due to stroke. In the department’s on-campus Language, Speech and Hearing Center (LSHC), students provide evaluation and therapy to clients from the surrounding community under faculty supervision. “Imagine someone who has gone their whole life speaking with ease, and suddenly, after a stroke, they can’t say their spouse’s name,” Biel says. “That’s where our students come in. They help bridge that gap, giving people tools to communicate again.” The therapy is about more than just words. It’s about restoring dignity and confidence, and reestablishing connections with loved ones. For students, these sessions are formative experiences, showing them the tangible impact their training has on real lives.

Dean Best recalls hearing former U.S. Congresswoman Gabby Giffords addressing a recent CSUN Assistive Technology conference, describing her own journey of relearning how to speak after a gunshot wound. “As soon as she mentioned the work she was doing, I immediately connected it to what we offer in the department,” Best says. “We are helping people to speak, to relearn how to communicate. That’s powerful.”

The Doctorate of Audiology: Meeting a Growing Need

CSUN’s Doctor of Audiology (Au.D.) program is another cornerstone of CDS. Established in 2019, the four-year program prepares students to diagnose, treat, and manage hearing and balance disorders. “It’s called the clinical doctorate of audiology, or Au.D.,” explains SuHyun Jin, Ph.D., CCC-A, professor and director of the program. “We admitted our first cohort in Fall 2019, and this year we have welcomed our seventh cohort of students.”

The Au.D. program combines three years of academic coursework and supervised clinical practice with a fourth-year externship in professional settings. Students rotate through the on-campus clinic and affiliated sites like hospitals, veterans’ facilities, private practices and school districts.

Dr. Jin emphasizes that audiology is about more than hearing aids. “We test hearing, but also balance, because the ear is essential for equilibrium,” she explains. “We’re also seeing increasing demand in areas like auditory processing disorder. For a long time, people thought it only affected children, but now we know it can impact adults too—including veterans with traumatic brain injuries.” 

Many professional musicians, including drummer Phil Collins, have sought out help for hearing loss, and it’s not just rock musicians. Dr. Jin explains that some hearing loss issues involve classical musicians who practice in small studios—where sound is amplified—or those who play on one side of their body, such as violinists. She adds that the field requires both scientific curiosity and compassion. “If someone wants to get into a clinical field where they can help others, audiology is a wonderful choice. You need compassion and strong communication skills. Those are the qualities that make our graduates successful.”

“We’re not just restoring sound. We’re restoring connection—to family, to community, to the world.” —Professor SuHyun Jin

Real-World Impact

The Au.D. program connects students with diverse clinical experiences, from working with veterans at the VA to helping schoolchildren struggling with auditory processing. CSUN also partners with major health providers like Kaiser Permanente, ensuring students are exposed to a wide spectrum of cases.

And students often bring their own lived experience. “We admit students who have hearing loss themselves,” Jin notes. “Some wear hearing aids or [have] cochlear implants. They know personally how difficult life can be with hearing loss, and that makes them incredibly passionate advocates for their future patients.”

The demand for audiologists is strong—and growing. As the U.S. population ages, hearing loss is becoming more common, and specialized services are expanding. “Even when the economy is not doing well, we still have a strong job market,” Jin says. “People need audiological services throughout their lifetime.”

Careers that Change Lives

Students who graduate from CDS programs step into careers that touch every stage of life. Speech-language pathologists and audiologists work in:

• Hospitals and rehabilitation centers
• Schools and early intervention programs
• Veterans’ health systems and specialty clinics
• Private practices and nonprofit organizations

Careers can range from working with toddlers on the autism spectrum to fitting hearing aids for musicians, to supporting older adults who want to remain active and independent.

Dean Best notes that there’s also a STEM foundation to the work. “People don’t always think about STEM as the underpinning foundation for degrees in this college,” she says. “But this is a science-based program. The foundation courses students take are the same as those preparing for medical school. We just don’t hear enough about these professions—and we need to increase awareness of the opportunities.”

Looking Ahead

The department is not only maintaining steady enrollment across its bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral programs, but also finding ways to grow. The audiology program, still young, is nearing capacity for each cohort. At the same time, the college is exploring more ways to connect CDS with other programs, like the minor in gerontology, to address the needs of an aging population.

For Dean Best, the opportunities are clear. “We have a population that’s getting older and living longer, and they still want to engage fully in life. That means we need professionals who understand how to work with older adults and meet their unique needs. Communication is central to that.”

Helping People: The CSUN Way

In the end, whether it’s speech therapy for a stroke survivor, an audiology test for a child, or a balance assessment for an older adult, the mission of CDS is simple: “These are all professions that are helping people,” Dean Best concludes. “That’s what this college does. We’re preparing students to make a difference—in the lives of individuals, in families, and in communities. That’s the heart of CSUN.”

For more information, contact the department office at comdis@csun.edu, or call (818) 677-2852.

The Language, Speech and Hearing Center: Learning by Helping

The ability to communicate thoughts and feelings is one of the most basic human needs. When those skills are disrupted, the CSUN Language, Speech and Hearing Center (LSHC) can help. Founded in 1960, the LSHC is a university-based clinic serving the San Fernando Valley with more than 12,000 patient visits each year. From infants and schoolchildren to adults and seniors, the center provides diagnosis and therapy for speech, language and hearing disorders. Its clinics also run early intervention programs and school-based screenings to catch problems as early as possible.

But the LSHC is more than a community resource—it’s also the heart of student training. Upper-division undergraduates, master’s students and doctoral students provide therapy and evaluations as part of their professional preparation, all under the supervision of licensed faculty clinicians. This structure ensures students not only fulfill their clinical requirements but also gain the hands-on experience that transforms theory into practice.

For clients, the LSHC means access to high-quality care. It’s where students fulfill clinical requirements and gain the hands-on experience that transforms theory into practice, a place to build skill, confidence, and compassion. For CSUN, it’s a living example of the university’s mission: to connect learning with service and prepare graduates to change lives.